Posts Tagged ‘ABC’

“We have been impressed by the great effort that your government has taken to improve the living standards of the majority of Venezuelans. … what Venezuela has been able to achieve in so little time will be a source of inspiration and ideas for many in Australia.”

Phillip Adams – Journalist, Republican of the Year 2005

I wonder what these people are now thinking of the reports coming out of the tragic Venezuelan basket case. Pity we missed out on the advice Hugo would have been able to give us on running an economy had he visited Australia as the below signatories had desired.

We, the undersigned citizens of Australia, would like to extend a warm invitation for you to visit our country. We have watched developments in Venezuela with great interest. We have been impressed by the great effort that your government has taken to improve the living standards of the majority of Venezuelans. We have also noted with keen attention the moves that your government has begun to make to create a society based on popular participation in all spheres of society—from the workplace up to the national government.
Although we are on the opposite side of the globe we feel that our shared ideals of social justice and democracy bring us close together. Every country has its own traditions and culture and has to find its own solutions, but what Venezuela has been able to achieve in so little time will be a source of inspiration and ideas for many in Australia.

In this light we believe that a visit to our country by yourself would not only help to improve the awareness of the Australian people of developments in Venezuela, but also be an unparalleled opportunity to strengthen the ties of friendship and solidarity between our two peoples.

I grew up with this flag as have all Australians since Federation, give or take a few points on the stars.

I grew up as an anglo-saxon with strong connection to the United Kingdom. Indeed, living in France for ten years led me to a profound understanding of what it is to have this connection.

Our language, our institutions, our dress, our architecture, our food, our ABC (aka BBC, ha ha), our media and its newspapers, the ugly thick mugs we drink tea out of around the country in universities, schools, city offices, workshops, farms, mines come from England and our mood and temperament does too. Yes, of course we are wonderfully multicultural too, full of Asians, Africans, and Indians —and I married a Sri Lankan — but I don’t know if you have noticed, so is everywhere else in the world, England included !!

And I love all of that too.

However, I resent the obsession, starting with the Bulletin one hundred years ago through to Jonathan Green and guests this very day from six o’clock this morning on their ABC, banging on about the flag, republicanism, mocking the new year’s honours — no mention of leftist barristers scrambling back to QC status — the monarchy, and somehow wanting to continue their adolescent hissy-fit about Australia needing to grow up and becoming more independent and confident when we already have and already are.

A few years ago, I went out and bought an Australian flag cooking apron in protest against the obnoxious decision by the Waverley council not to fly the Australian flag over the Bondi Pavillion in case it made certain people feel unwelcome.

All I want to say is get over it. Jonathan Green, get over it. The ABC get over it. The ALP, get over it. Be proud of our heritage, be proud of our flag. Perhaps you might all prefer to learn to speak Esperanto.